My Summer Trip to Manitoba, 2025 (RIP Ozzy)

As I announced last Sunday, I’ve been living in Saskatchewan full time after I fell in love with the province during a road trip. My love hasn’t changed, but when I found out that Winnipeg is just a 6 hour motorcycle ride from Regina I had to spontaneously start a road trip the next morning. Fast forward 2 days later and here I am talking about my amazing trip in Manitoba.

Many motorcycle lovers can relate that at a 6 hour drive is perfect for most trips. It’s just enough time to feel like you’re escaping but also little enough time to not feel like work. After 6 hours of biking down the Trans-Canada Highway I felt refreshed pulling into Winnipeg, or at least I would’ve felt more refreshed if my motorcycle hadn’t been having problems. Funny enough though, when I pulled into the Walmart on McPhillips St I found another road-tripping family that was having problems with their RV and had been camping there in the parking lot for 4 days because of it. I offered a quick gander to see if I could help, but they refused because they were working on an embarrassing solution. Remember that family, because I’ll be bringing them up again during this story.

Ah, I wish there was something beautiful to tell you about how my 2 day trip in Winnipeg evolved next, but adding onto my motorcycle problems I realized I had only brought $200 cash with me for the whole trip and so when I rolled out of the Walmart parking lot I wondered what I could possible do for cheap while still being able to afford a campsite or something for the nights I was staying there. The feeling of being limited was kind of nice, in all honesty though. It made me appreciate my decision to make this trip, and I felt free as a bird.

Of course, I couldn’t enjoy my first night in Winnipeg without some beer, so I went to the Silver Spike Saloon (awesome business name by the way) to spend the first portion of my money on a pint, and to hopefully mingle with some locals who also start drinking before dinner time like me. I met an old couple who recommended KOA campground for an affordable tent site. I took them on their offer and while I was still legally able to drive I rode my motorcycle to the campsite and set up my one-person tent. It always feels good to have your tent set up long before bedtime, so that’s what I did. And of course feeling sleepy I even used it for a quick nap.

I’m realizing this story is starting to get a little unexciting so let me jump to the fun stuff, because I slept well that night and nothing really happened. The next day, waking up from my tent felt amazing. I headed to the nearest Starbucks and decided I would check out some historical sites and museums. If I had friends in Winnipeg of course we’d be drinking at a lake but alas I still enjoyed what I saw exploring on my own. It was when I was stopping at Walmart before heading back to camp that I ran into that family with RV troubles again, however they looked really excited to see me this time.

Their dilemma was that they had a friend over in Springfield, MB who knew how to fix their RV problem but they just didn’t have a means of taking the RV there. It’s only a 40 minute drive but you try saying “Yes” to a family that needs their RV towed for 40 minutes! Towing an RV for 40 minutes isn’t something anyone can just offer to do for free. However, their friend in Springfield had done some calling around, and if I hadn’t pulled into that Walmart when I had I would’ve missed seeing this family again because they already had a tow truck on the way who was willing to give them a super good deal. I’m talking like a generous 70% discount because they were friends of friends. Seeing how happy this solution made this family made me equally as happy for them, and I’ll never forget the name of the towing company that helped them because it was equally as striking. I’ll just let you see for yourself with my hyperlink only so that you can laugh when you see it for the first time like I did! But yes that’s really their business name, lol. I’ll just call them W.T.A.T.T.S. for short.

Now if you’re wondering if meeting this family again was the highlight of my trip, you’d be partly correct only because it made me really happy but you’re actually wrong because otherwise this story wouldn’t be exciting enough to be worth sharing. I’m sharing this story with you on the very same day I got home from my trip all because I was so excited to tell anybody from home about what happened during this next part of my day in Winnipeg.

So, I had what I needed from Walmart in my motorcycle bags, and before leaving the parking lot I decided I’d look up another cool country-themed spot to grab a pint of beer before heading to my campsite. I was on the way to said bar when I saw a car I recognized. It was a small blue Honda from the ’90s, and I’d recognize it anywhere because it was actually me who put that dent into the side of the back passenger door 10 years ago during a rodeo. It belonged to my dearest friend from high school back in when I lived in a different part of Ontario. That car meant more to me than my own motorcycle so of course I had a tear in my eye when I pulled up to holler at the driver during a red light. It was indeed my friend Sarah and we just cackled the moment we saw each other.

What struck me in hindsight of this night with her being amazing is that we listened to nothing but Ozzy Osbourne the whole time. It blows my mind because Ozzy was our favorite when we were in school together, we jammed at so many parties to Crazy Train. This unexpected meet up had just happened earlier this week, and because we were both busy living country lives neither of us knew Ozzy had passed away while we were jamming to his songs all night. Of course, as you can imagine, when driving to Starbucks together the next morning we realized our Spotify playlists had run out of Ozzy songs that we hadn’t already heard a dozen times recently. So naturally as we sipped our coffees in her car we looked up some lesser known Ozzy songs on our phones and instantly saw the terrible news.

RIP Ozzy Osbourne, Sarah and I will always jam to your stuff on road trips! In fact, we promised to meet each other in Winnipeg again next year, on July 22nd, Ozzy’s last day. If no one else in Winnipeg is having an Ozzy cover band show on July 22nd then Sarah and I will at least be having a crappy one at our campsite. You can count on it.

What I’ve Been Up To In Saskatchewan So Far

So if you haven’t gotten the hint from the title of this post, I’ve been super busy because I ended up moving and living in Saskatchewan full time. My drive through the Cypress Hills stuck with me for the very brief time I was home, and with a motorcycle and a dream I drove back to Saskatchewan to get more like some cliche, girl from a fantasy novel. Laugh as me all you want!

It really is funny because on my last post I was offering tips on preparations for road tripping through Saskatchewan, and now here I am telling you what I’ve been up to since I moved there!

If you really want to know, I’ve been up to a whole heck of a lot of lovely stuff. There’s just something about this province that makes my heart sing. Maybe its the endless roads for motorcycling or the wholesome, hard-working people. Whatever it is, I hope it doesn’t change just because I’m here. Never change, Saskatchewan! I love you.

In all seriousness though I’ve mostly bee riding my bike through everything Saskatchewan has to offer, and I haven’t been doing it alone. Let’s just say my riding partner wears leather boots that are nearly worth more than bike, and he’s handsome to boot!

Without him I’d still love Saskatchewan though, especially after he showed me Lake Views in Qu’Appelle Valley, Lake Diefenbaker, Grasslands National Park, and trails near Prince Albert. I’m already Canadian, but Saskatchewan with my man makes me wish I was really Canadian.

This summer I’ve been eating my food off bark, cooking on campfires, fixing my bike, and making out under the clear, cool moon and I wouldn’t change it for a thing. I was actually reluctant to blog about this because I thought it might spoil my luck. But another reason I love my man is because he doesn’t read. With me, he lives the life other men read about.

It’s been good, to say the least. I’m even considering the offer to get a new bike soon! But, shish, don’t spoil it. This is all too good to be true and I fear it might change fast. I guess I’ll update you when it does.

Signing out, Yours truly

Riding a Motorcycle Through Saskatchewan

It won’t be my first time driving a motorcycle through Saskatchewan, but this year in 2025 I want to ensure I’m more prepared than last time. I’ve compiled a list of a few major preparations I made, for anyone else who might find it useful for their road trip.

2024 was a tough year even if it had it’s ups, so planning my 2025 road trip has been the main shield for my sanity lately. I can’t wait to hit the straight and seemingly endless highways of Saskatchewan again. I put a lot of thought into this, unlike last time when I was a young lass. I need to put a lot of thought into it, because I’ll be going solo, and it’s not always safe for a girl out there, even in Canada nowadays.

Before I share the list of preparations that will help you on a cross-Saskatchewan bike trip, I’ll share some of the mistakes I made last time.

When I last did this trip, I wasn’t solo. I had some biker friends with me, which is a smart thing to do, but my mistake was choosing the wrong biker friends. They were real bikers, those types who wear black leather and smoke a lot. I thought I was cool hanging out with them in my twenties, but now I see they led me down some dark roads, literally as they always insisted on taking the wrong turn. They’d overpower my vote and lead me down dirt roads, to vandalize mailboxes and that sort of thing. They were also young men at the time, and have since grown up to see the errors in their ways, but if I could sum up the mistake in taking those kind of people on a road trip is that you don’t want to feel guilty about it afterwards; remind yourself why you’re doing this trip and choose your company accordingly.

The second major mistake I made on my last ride through Saskatchewan was not stopping to check out all the cool attractions along the way. I know a lot of people choose Saskatchewan for bike trips because of the lack of attractions–they want nothing but the endless, flat road as a form of meditation–but I actually find the history of the province interesting, as it’s unique from any other place in the world. The history of the settlers, the First Nations, the cities, it’s so fascinating! The internet wasn’t a huge thing back then on my first trip, but today you can go to websites like Regina Tourism to see all the attractions worth seeing and plan your trip accordingly, which is precisely what I plan to do this time around.

Solo motorcyclist driving on the middle of an empty road in the country

Now that I got my major mistakes from my last trip out of the way, let’s talk about how my upcoming one is going to be much, much better thanks to these 4major preparations I made:

Preparation #1. Because I’m going solo across the whole province, I made sure my motorcycle is tuned up and ready to roll, with fresh road tires, new brakes, and an extra can of gas I can strap to my luggage wrack. I also installed some slick black leather saddlebags to my luggage wrack so I don’t need to store all my food and water in an over-encumbered backpack like last time.

Preparation #2. As mentioned above, I have a plan to actually do some touristy sight seeing this time around, and have a planned itinerary of all the places I want to check out along the way, such as Wascana Lake in Regina.

Preparation #3. This might be the most important one. My motorcycle is insured of course, but I’m too frugal for a monthly roadside assistance plan. To ease my worries just in case I do pop a tire or have engine troubles, I called around to find a reputable towing company that can assist me in most places across Saskatchewan. I ended up having a great chat with Wreckless Towing and Recovery, and they agreed to come give roadside assistance or motorcycle towing if I should happen to need it during my trip. It’s much better to have a plan for when something goes wrong rather than react unexpectedly.

Preparation #4. Because I’m frugal, I never had a phone data plan. But for this trip I decided it might be a smart thing to do, not only so I can book hotels as I go and research tourist attractions if I feel like it, but so I can use online maps and prevent getting lost. While I have a plan for places to check out, like Wascana Lake, I don’t have my whole route planned out dot to dot, so having online maps will allow me to take fun detours and different routes if I feel like it. Also, I can listen to my Spotify playlist which is a huge plus!

These are the top preparations I made, but of course I could keep rambling. I feel so prepared even though I find joy in preparing further. Some other minor preparations I made are having a decent savings, ordering bulk nonperishable food for my saddlebags, ensuring I have several large refillable water bottles, and a small tent I can use to sleep in if I need to. I’m so excited to hit the road, and I hope you find joy in preparing your trip to make it safe and memorable, too.

Saskatchewan, here I come!

My spring cleaning 2024 experience

As a motorcycle enthusiast you might expect my home is rather clean because I’m never inside; I’m always outside riding motorcycles whenever I get the chance. However, if you saw the state of my garage after the winter you’d realize you were sorely wrong. Motorcycle enthusiasts often have messy garages because we’re always disassembling motorbikes, cleaning parts, and leaving our tools everywhere. At least I was this winter. But it’s now the middle of spring and after cleaning all week I’m quite proud of the state of things now.

I want to share my spring cleaning experience because I think it will be funny for other motorcycle enthusiasts to relate to. If you also collect used motorcycles like I do to take out their parts and build new motorcycles, then you’ll be familiar with the rags covered in oil stains, the toolboxes spread along the floor, the pile of unwanted motorcycle parts that needed to go the scrap yard months ago, and most familiar of all might be that feeling when your new motorcycle is finally built and you can leave your messy garage behind and go for a long cruise down the highway just for the fun of it.

I often get asked why motorcycle lovers always ride around together in large groups. The truth for me at least is that when I’m riding along with my friends I feel like a kid again, when we used to ride our tricycles down the block together. It’s basically the adult version of that. Back in 2021 I made a post about the joys of being on the road and that’s the feeling I get when all my friends meet up and we cruise together for hours on our new motorcycles. Some people think we might be in a gang when we come ripping by but really we’re just old guys who love repairing and riding motorcycles. And what’s almost as enjoyable as riding is, indeed, working on motorcycles in my garage. Now that my garage is as clean as a brand new polished chrome exhaust pipe, my love for repairing old motorcycles has renewed and I’m starting to envision how fun this summer will be as I begin a new project.

Speaking of new projects, stay tuned for more posts to come!

A Landscape to Match Your Motorcycle

One thing almost all motorcycle enthusiasts have in common is the selfish need to display our precious bikes out in the driveway for our neighbors to get jealous and all passersby to admire. Just admit it! While we might be proud of our polished and tuned-up motorcycles as they’re erected in the driveway for all to see, it doesn’t look so impressive when the surrounding landscape design in the front yard doesn’t meet the bar so to speak. This year I noticed that more than other years. I had just finished cleaning my motorcycle and put it out on the driveway when I went out onto the street to take a photo of it. In the photo, the bike looked mouth-droolingly delicious, but the landscape behind it was horrendous. The landscaping at our front yard was so bad that I didn’t upload the photo until after a landscaping Victoria company came out and touched up our garden design. Now my front yard landscape looks just as good as my bike, so I’m no longer one of these stereotypical motorcycle collectors who can never look at the details behind the bike.

A bike photo with a beautiful landscape background

So this discussion now brings me to the part of the story where you, dear ready, come into plat. Are you like me and love to take photos of your freshly washed bikes or scooters in the driveway? Are you also like me and neglected their front yard landscaping and so those pictures you took, no matter how nice the bikes are, look like crap? Then – boy! – do I have the solution for you.

It’s called “a landscape to match your motorcycle” and it’s a really clever idea. I’m now encouraging you to try something different with your motorcycle collection this summer. I don’t care if you hire a professional landscaping company like I did or do the yard work yourself, but next time you take a picture of your bikes or scooters on the driveway and upload them onto social media, I want the background in the photo to look just as good as the bikes. You may also need to take your bike to a public park or something to do this, because not all of us have front yards to do landscaping in, after all, but you get my point, I hope. What I’m trying to say is note everyone who loves bikes thinks our photos of them are any good if the backgrounds look like crap. Now I suspect you’re giggling now and, yes, I am trying to be funny, but for the sake of people who don’t care about bikes it’s our duty, in order to get more likes on our photos, to make the backgrounds look good!

Ha! Thanks for reading and I hope you had a good laugh. But I’m serious….

There’s nothing wrong with driving a car till it completely breaks down.

From what I’ve seen out and about, I believe it’s most common for people to sell their car and replace it before it completely breaks down to the point of no repair. After all, it wouldn’t be safe to drive a car that was on the brink of falling into pieces at any moment, especially on the freeway. But if you have a plan, and you know your car isn’t going to explode, what’s the harm in driving a piece of garbage until it can’t be driven anymore? Is it so ethical to put the car out of its mystery like a beloved pet on its deathbed or let it live out its last days on a walker?

I bring this up because I’ve seen people go through financial headaches, having this idea in their heads that they have to have a nice car. They go into anxiety-inducing debt to get a car that still fulfils the same function as the old clunker they sold. I don’t see the point if you can ignore what others think. A friend of mine lives in a really nice neighborhood where everyone drives electric vehicles but he knows he doesn’t have to sign a long lease for a car that runs a little better if he can just put up with what he has. He ignores what people think, because it does the job for him, even though his car runs really rough and seriously needs a paint job

With this way of thinking always remember though that, like the horse you used all your life on the farm, your beater car will have to go one day. It’ll be obvious when the time comes, but until then enjoy all the money your saving and all the stress your avoiding by being grateful for the shitty car you have!

Thank you for stopping by Endurozone. We’re your blog all about cars and motorcycles!

The Joys of Being on the Road

If you found and enjoy the Endurozone blog then there’s a good chance you also enjoy being on the road. If your in the office or waiting in a long line with your phone, consider this poetic description of being on the road a temporary escape from the mundane nature that life as a hardworking man or woman sometimes offers.

Close your eyes or keep them open, it’s up to you. Either way, whatever your present environment is right now, just pretend your not there. Just, for a moment, pretend your at the handlebars of your favorite motorcycle, or behind the wheel of your favorite car, driving.

Riding.

Cruising.

Just enjoying the joys of the road. You’re on a twisty road you’ve never been on before, that curls around the bends of the shore. To your left you can see and smell the salty ocean, the seagulls, the wind in your hair. To your right your see the luscious forest, the crows cawing and deer loping. Straight ahead, the road goes on forever, or just long enough for you to be fully sated and ready to get back to work. Behind you, all your worries have gone, and you wonder, because life is so beautiful, what could’ve possibly had you down in the first place.

Maybe you’ve only been driving for fifteen minutes, maybe for three hours. But already you feel as if you’ve just been on a month-long holiday vacation. And that’s the power of being behind the wheel, your testimony for why life is worth living. To drive.

If you enjoyed this exercise, check out our other posts.

Be Careful On The Roads This Winter!

This post is sponsored by Scarborough Towing And Tow Truck Services, more on that later.

With climate change in full swing, there’s no telling how extreme the winter of 2021 will be. Now, in Fall, is the time to prepare for the worst, with a smile on your face, of course. Because the people who don’t prepare might wish they had listened to Edd Stark when he said “Winter is coming.”

What my family has done to prepare is partly covered in the following:

  1. Filled the trunk of our car with emergency survival equipment, including a BBQ with propane and an inflatable boat.
  2. Switched out our seasonal tires for brand new winter tires.
  3. Changed all the fluid in our vehicle (with a focus on anti-freeze).
  4. Got a spare tire as well as a spare car battery for under the back seat.
  5. Made a close connection with our local towing company and law enforcement, with their phone numbers in our dashboard glovebox.

Now, you may or may not be doing a lot of driving this winter. Even if you’re not, it’s best to have your vehicle prepared for the worst, with extra gasoline and tire patch kits, because you never know how bad the snow storms will get. You might get a call from a loved one who needs help, whom the local law enforcement is unable to reach in a timely manner due to backed up traffic on the highways. You might get storm warnings and wish to vacate to a hotel in the city rather than burn up all your firewood in the boonies. With all this considered, everything could be fine. You might get one inch of snow, but it’s still best to be prepared.

So far we’ve discussed preparing for winter with your vehicle. This is a lot different than actually building safe winter driving habits, however. Before we discuss what we believe to be the foundational points of safe winter driving, we’d like to give a shot out to our sponsors:

This post of winter driving safety was brought to you by our local tow truck service company.

Scarborough Towing And Tow Truck Services

Specializing in 24 HR towing and emergency roadside assistance in Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario and surrounding areas, trust the kind folds at Scarborough Towing And Tow Truck Services.

Their contact info:

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The Foundations of Safe Winter Driving

We here at Endurozone don’t claim to be experts in winter driving, but after discussing this with friends and family, as well as our local tow truck drivers, we’ve agreed that there are 3 key principles to remember when driving in winter conditions. Here they are:

  1. Drive much slower than you typically would. This is important especially in stormy weather when vision is obstructed. By driving slower than normal you minimize the risk of slipping on black ice or losing control of your vehicle on tight turns.
  2. Be more alert than usual. It’s best to always be alert when driving, of course, but it makes sense to say that in winter conditions extra alertness is required compared to summer driving conditions. When winds are blowing, trees could be falling, people could be hidden behind falling snow, and by paying more attention to where you’re vehicle is going and what is in front of you, you lessen the risks of putting your car in a situation you would other wise fail to avoid–in this case, the ditch, if you’re lucky.
  3. Keep extra space between your vehicle and others. Of course, you can’t control how close the person behind you is. If they’re too close for comfort however, you can be aware of this and make sure to show them your brake lights when you feel like there might be a chance you have to slow down up ahead. However, you have full control of how close you’re driving to the vehicle in front of you! In summer conditions this might be fairly close and no one will complain. But in winter, or even stormy weather any time of year, you reduce the chances of collisions when your increase the distance between vehicles on the road.

There are many more tips to keep in mind when driving in extreme winter weather, but these are the 3 main, most simple ones that you can always have in your back pocket whenever you step behind the steering wheel during stormy winter weather.

One last time before we let you go, we want to wish everyone a great end to the Fall seasons and safe Winter! Because, after all, “Winter is coming.”

Thanks for tuning in. Contact us if you would like to sponsor a post with Endurozone.

Benefits of Electric Scooters in Canada

Thinking of getting a motorcycle but worried about safety and expenses? First of all, you’re in the right place because our blog is all about having fun with and learning about motorcycles. Today, however, we want to share the benefits of taking baby steps, which in this case for beginners would be getting an electric scooter instead of a motorcycle.

Personally, I would recommend electric scooters for beginners to practice with because although you’re legally able to drive them in the bicycle lane in Canada some of them also go up to 50 – 70 KM per hour which is faster than most bicycles and safe enough to drive on most urban and residential roads without being in the bicycle lane. Before I get too personal with my opnion though, let’s see what others are saying. Here are the 3 most common reasons why young beginners who want to drive motorcycles should start simply by getting an electric scooter instead. However, click here to learn what an electric scooter axially is if you’re uncertain. Now let’s begin:

3 Reasons Why You Might Want to Get an Electric Scooter Instead of a Motorcycle

  1. Students who don’t enjoy arriving to school all sweaty because they had to peddle on their bike for ten kilometers often prefer bikes with electric motors on them. Basically, getting a scooter is just one step above an electric peddle bike. Also, electric scooters have more storage space so you can carry your books in the trunk department instead of adding extra weight on your back.
  2. Cost-wise, it’s much cheaper to plug in your scooter to an electric socket when you get home at night rather than spend $50 a week on gas, especially if you have shared accommodations and don’t have to pay for the entire electricity bill at your home. Also, many places have stations where you can charge your electric vehicles while parked these days.
  3. Because, in Canada at least, you’re able to ride your electric scooter in the bicycle lane if you wish, that also means that electric scooters are potentially much safer than motorcycles. You may not be able to take your electric scooter on the highway going 120 KM per hour, but then again if it suites your purposes then there’s no reason to do such a thing to risk your safety anyways.

These three reasons are just to get started, to aid you in making your final decision. If I could say one more thing it’s that you don’t even need a driver’s license to drive an electric scooter in Canada although they can go 70 KM per hour. This means that for young people especially who are still training how to ride correctly, a temporary electric scooter to get you through the first few years of adult life could provide the practice you need to become a competent rider.

Whatever you decide, us here at Endurozone wish you safety out there on the roads!

What Feels Good VS What’s Good (Why Men Drive)

Driving a car ever since m’ grand daddy slapped me has been the utmost metaphor for life. Life in general that is. Can’t blame me when I’m living in a box. Except for the guy who invented the box, of course. But then again we’re all driving cars and we all live in boxes. Are we really all just doing what feels good to us, or is there a better reason why we like to speed at 230 miles per hour down the freeway?

While continuing to use driving as the utmost metaphor for life in general, I would like to say that I have concrete evidence proving cars and driving in general is good for life in general and stereotypical men don’t just love cars because they feel good.

My evidence starts with my own first-hand experience seeing how owning a car has turned a lazy teenager into an efficient pizza delivery driver. No cap. That lazy teenager was my own son, and I’m as stereotypical as they get. My son is thinking about starting his own pizza shop now. But a year ago he was playing video games all day. Look at what a single vehicle did, even though I paid for it!

And it feels good too. I think, actually, now that I reckon, that’s all the evidence I need.